Gjersrud-Stensrud, Oslo, NO
Gjersrud-Stensrud lies between two large mountains and can be roughly divided into two conditions: mountainous areas with poor coniferous forest and low-lying terrain with cultivated farmland, swamp vegetation, streams, hills and lakes. The different habitats in the low-lying terrain have a limited distribution in Norway and in addition support a wide range of vulnerable species.
The city municipality owns only a small amount of the site. The majority of the land is sub-divided between numerous landowners and local inhabitants, who also depend on the land for their livelihood.
Our masterplan is premised on four key planning concepts: (1) establishing a landscape strategy that protects farmland and precious natural habitat from future development (2) making parks and open spaces that are linked to the surrounding mountains and forests (3) focusing social amenities into development nodes linked to public infrastructure and (4) building neighbourhood centres that have distinctly different identities, architectures and streetscapes.
The design demonstrates how landscape and topography can be employed to inform the organisation of built form and typology, from the macro to the micro scale. A hierarchy of spaces would deliver distinct characters from public squares and hill-top promenades to more intimate spaces, courtyards, lanes and mews.
Gjersrud-Stensrud, Oslo, NO
Client
Municipality of Bergen
Programme
5000 housing units, station area, mixed-use activities
Site area
80 ha
Design team
Studio Woodroffe Papa, 3RW Arkitekter, Jérôme Picard and Christian E. Mong